Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio to Get New Lighting

The Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio in East Attica, will be getting a new lighting system with the aim of showcasing the monument’s size and design more clearly, the Culture Ministry announced.

New lighting for the Temple of Poseidon

The announcement was made yesterday, Wednesday, February 28th, after Greece’s Central Archaeological Council approved a study, which had been prepared by internationally renowned, EMMY award-winning lighting designer Eleftheria Deko and her colleagues at the Office of Lighting. The scheme is being sponsored by Mytilineos in partnership with the ministry.

The aim of the improved lighting system is to showcase the monument and its surroundings without the need for intervention or alterations to its character. It is believed the new lights would be the best way to highlight the Temple of Poseidon’s outline and make it more visible, using what the ministry claims is an environmentally-friendly method.

“Twenty years after the installation of the existing lighting at the Temple of Poseidon during the Olympic Games, the physical wear and tear of time, failures and alterations in the light fixtures that resulted in the alteration of the lighting, require the installation of a modern lighting system,” Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said.

Deko is also behind the new lighting at the Acropolis.

The lighting project at the Acropolis

The new lighting for the great hill of Athens was unveiled in September 2020 in the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, and President of the Onassis Foundation Antonis Papadimitriou.

The new lighting at the Acropolis was live-streamed on the website of the Culture Ministry at digitalculture.gov.gr and on the YouTube channel of the Onassis Foundation. It was also broadcast live by public broadcaster ERT1. It is unknown whether the same will happen for the new lighting at the Temple of Poseidon.

At the time of the new lighting, Deko, keen to showcase the monuments of the Acropolis, said, “My main concern since taking office at the Ministry was to upgrade the infrastructure and services provided at the Acropolis of Athens. The image of the Acropolis, our foremost monument, reflects and transmits the image of the country. The Onassis Foundation has kindly offered to undertake the significant sponsorship of a series of projects.”

According to an announcement made by the Ministry of Culture at the time, the study relies on lighting gradients in intensity and shades of white. In order to highlight architectural elements and enhance the perception of reliefs, depth, and plasticity, these will be placed in both inner and outer parts of the monuments.

Additionally, as part of the technical upgrade, any light pollution created by the lighting has now been reduced.

A date for the lighting upgrade for the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio has not yet been set.